Advanced Ledge System on Unreal Engine 5 Only Blueprints - Part 01
Most Valuable Lessons and Insights
Make sure to add a small gap between ledges and character hands when placing tags, otherwise the hands may float or clip into geometry.
Use tags to control ledge attachment angle – simple and performant compared to spline-based approaches. This lets you specify exact facing angles per ledge.
Collision setup matters: create thin “ledge stripes” with custom collision (query only, ignore all but visibility). This ensures lightweight detection without physics overhead.
Added the ability to detach mid-animation by canceling timelines and ignoring root motion when pressing detach (F). This prevents floating bugs and feels more responsive.
Cornering and freehang are handled by duplicating and rotating ledge stripes, adjusting tag values to control rotation and character offset for smoother navigation.
📁 Resources & links
Download all the project files from all the livestreams:
/ locodev
Document of the Ledge System(work in progress
): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z...
📌 Unreal Engine Version used: UE5.5
Link of the animations I'm using: https://www.fab.com/listings/fbfda52a...
👇 Follow me on social media:
Discord Server: / discord
Twitter: / locodev7701
Instagram: / devloco
In this livestream, I walk through the full setup of my custom ledge climbing system for Unreal Engine 5. You’ll see how to place and configure “ledge stripes,” control animations with tags, handle freehangs, corners, and even fix bugs like detaching mid-animation.
This is perfect for indie developers or intermediate Unreal Engine learners who want to build AAA-inspired mechanics like you see in games such as The Last of Us. By the end, you’ll understand not just the workflow but also how to optimize the system for both performance and flexibility.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro and overview of the ledge system
00:02:18 Testing ledge navigation and animation bugs
00:04:14 Inner and outer corners demo
00:04:28 180-degree leap attempt and debugging
00:05:56 Animation retargeting issues (UE4 vs UE5 skeleton)
00:07:19 Premium vs Standard project release plan
00:14:25 Code walkthrough preview
00:18:06 Explaining ledge stripes and tags setup
00:22:27 Collision settings for ledge stripes
00:29:03 Adding freehang with tags
00:30:28 Setting up corner rotations with tags
00:44:07 Adjusting left/right movement offsets in code
00:48:20 Fixing detach bug by stopping timelines and ignoring root motion
00:52:18 GAS system insights and rotation handling
00:53:12 Future plans: climb up ledges and responsiveness improvements